Method of forming sea-walls, &amp;c.



H. BAETZ.

METHOD 0F FORMINGI SEA WALLS, dw.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 19,1911. 4 l 1,048,791 Patented Dec. 31, 1912.

33 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WIT/VESSES:

H. BAETZ.

METHOD 0F PORMING SEA WALLS, 6m.

APPLIUATION FILED AUG.19,1911.

41,01118Q791 Patented Dec. 31, 1912.

2 SHEBTS-SHBET l2.

A TTOR/VE Y HENRY BAETZ, 0F SEATTLE, WASHINGTON. y

METHOD OF FORMING LEA-WALLS, &U.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 31,1912.

Application tiled August 19, 1911. Serial No. 645,035.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, HENRY BAETz, a citizen of the United States, residing at Seattle, in theI county of King and State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Forming Sea-Walls, &c., of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in the construction of sea walls and to novel methods of establishing the same in` selected operative positions.

The object of the invention is the provision of a'wall suitable for harbor embankments, docks, jetties and the like, that may be instituted with solid foundations well below the water level without recourse to the expensive and inconvenient expediente of co er-dams and caissons.

The invention consists in the novel construction of a wall-unit'and method of sinking the same and in combination with like units in longitudinal relation.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote similar parts in the several views, Figure 1 is a cross sectional view of an embankment-wall showing somewhat diagrammatically an embodiment of my invention in a completed state. Fig. 2 is a" fragmentary view in vertical longitudinal section of the same in process ot emplacement. Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view on line 3-3 of Eig. 2. Fig. 4 is a view in horizontal section, the unit a being on line a-a and the unit b on line b-b of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a detail fragmentary view partly i in section of the .water delivery devices 4within the scope of t shown in the preceding views, and Fig. 6 is a sectional view showing a detail of construction of the sub-chamber. f

To carry out my invention, I employ a structure comprising Vindividual wall-units of substantially similar construction formed of concrete suitably reinforced by steel rods or the like to afford a well-knit construction proportioned and adapted to the particular situation in which employed. Modifications in structural detail may obviously be made e appended claims without departlng from thel spirit of the invention or sacrificing its advantages.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated herewith the reference numeral 1 designates the longitudinal verticalfside walls and 2 the transverse end walls of the respec-` tive unitsy a, b, ad, etc. The quadrangular space inclosed within said walls is divided by a horizontal partition 3 into upper and lower compartments which are in turn subdivided respectively vby vertical transversely arranged party-walls 4 and 5 into suitably disposed cells 6 and 7. Said lower compart -ment isv desirably provided with o ne medial party-wall 5 forming two symmetrically proportioned cells 7 herein specifically designated as sub-chambers. The lower extremities of said walls 1 and 2 forming the exterior walls of the sub-chambers are extended outwardly, as at 8, at an angle from their vertical planes affording a batter to provide a somewhat broader base for the structure and to provide an extended advance peripheral edge to penetrate the bed 10 and relieve the wall surface thereabove of excessive amounts of friction in the regressive ,sinking of the structure. Suc lower edges are inwardly beveled at 11 and'may l desirably be each provided with a V-shaped metal shoe 12 for protection against fracture or other damage. The lower edge of the party-wall' may likewise be beveled from both sides and protected with a V-shaped shoe 12. The interior surface ofthe side and top walls of each said sub-chamber should be `rotected against severe abrasive hydraulic orce by the provision of a sheathing 13 of sheet metal, or the like.

The upper compartment is, as before explained, subdivided by party-walls 4 into a plurality of cells 6. In the present instance two such party walls are employed dividing the space above the partition 3 transversely into three parts. The middle cell herein denominated'the f pumping chamber is positioned to overlie a portion of both the subchambers, and the adjacent cells, termed filling chambers occupy .the remainder of end of each unit is provided with vertical tongues 16 spaced inwardly from the side walls and formed with inclined faces opposing said faces 15 of an adjacent unit.

Power operated pumping apparatus is 'the respective sub-chambers provided for carrying out the invention and may be located upon adjacent land or in whole or inpart Within the several units. For the purposes of this application,v said devices are shown installed Within the aforesaid pumping chamber and it will be under'- stood that the installation shown somewhat diagrammatically may be varied to properly meet the eXigencies of each case.

The reference numeral 17 denotes a pump oi' the centrifugal type operated by electrical motor or other means not shown in the views. Said pump obtains a supply of water through the pipe 18 from a source eX! teriorly of the chamber and the same is forced outwardly from the pump to pipebranches 19 conveying water'to sub-branches 2O telescopically connected with downwardly directed heads 2l which protrude through apertures 22 in the partitions 3 into therebelow.

Four of said heads are shown of which two enter each of said sub-chambers.

As outlined watervis pumped into the respective sub-chambers through the no-zzles 23 and thesame may be induced outwardly therefrom through the extensible suction pipe 24- extending through an aperture in 'each said chamber into the pipe 25 whence it is conducted axially of the centrifugal sand and gravel pump 26 and forced thereby u wardly through the conduit 27 to a suita le receptacle (not shown) eXteriorly of the unit-structures. `Each said sub-branch in the apertures 22 to prevent leakage ofv ,peo

20 through which the water is conveyed. to the sub-chambers is extended downwardly as into the respective aperture 22 in the partition 3 (see Fig. 5). The head 21 slidable in said aperture extends eXteriorly of said sub-branch and is provided with a colla`r 28 and contained gasket29 at its upper end affording water-tight connection therebetween. 30 are handles upon said collar through which the head maybe raised Yor lowered upon the sub-branch and rotated to deflect the nozzle in any direction desiredf 31 denotes a stuiing boX and gland withwaterthereat. Suitable valves (not shown) may be included in each of several nozzle an s uction pipe'connections so that controlA of flow in each member is obtainable by the operator.

In carrying out my invention, construct a wall-unit as described at any suitable location and convey it in its integrity to the selected position where it is to be installed. Providing' the bed wherein the`unit is tol be sunk is submerged the 'exterior walls l and 2 are formed of suicient height toeX- tend above the water-level; The method and structure herein described are intended for sinkingin a bed of relatively penetrable sedimentary materialv such as silt,V or sand,

commonly forming thebeds of streams and limager' from rock -mud being forced upwardly into the subchambers and seal the latter from access to i the atmosphere'. Water is then pumped in through the nozzles 23 to lill the sub-chambers and suction is applied thereto through the pipes 24C which withdraws water and the contained air therefrom` until the latter is exhausted and displaced by water and thereafter the pumps forcevout waten and suspended solid matter from the chamber as the latter is stirred up by the water jets emitted from the aforesaid nozzles. The force of the jets and violent agitation of the contained water have a rapid erosive effect upon the subjacent earthy material and as the` same is dislodged and conveyed out of the sub-chamber the unit structure progressively settles downwardly by its gravit into the bore thus formed until a pre etermined depth for the foundations is approximated. The water and mud material is pumped into a suitable receptacle (not shown) eXteriorly of the structure where the water may be drainedfo and the solids may be deposited in the cells 6 styled filling chambers. As the material is displaced it is filled into the compartments therefor and gives added weight to the structure as it sinks into the surrounding bed. j

It will be obvious that in the manipulation of the pumping apparatus and other appliances provided that the nozzles may be revolved and raised or lowered to direct the force of water in any direction desired. ln' this manner the structure may be sunk in a perfectly erect condition by varying the direction of the jets to increase or retard the cutting action at any point and thus rendering the operator capable 'of guiding the sinking operationsto a practicable degree of accuracy. A

In practice ,where the wall to be built has considerable height, it may not be advisable to construct the vertical walls originally before installation to their nal extent but to add to the same from timeto time during the downward progress of the work. To this endlthe vertical steel reinforcing rods may be left protruding upwardly above the original lower section and superposed forms may be built about the walls andl concrete filled therein i-n the usual manner.

During the progress of the sinking opera-v tions if obstructions to the Work should be niet rendering it necessary to investigate conditions within lthe 'sub-'chambers or remove material too large to pass through the vpipes 24 the How of water into the latter may be stopped I`as vby closing Avalvesl 1n, i

ne l

cluded in.the nozzle connections and after withdrawing the major part of the contained water by means of, thepump 2.6 the latter may be discontinued and connections made with an air compressor (not shown) to increase atmospheric pressure therein to prevent the undue influxof seepage after the well-'known practice of caisson-work. Similarly, access is had by the operator to each sub-chamber through the partition 3 by means of a man-hole 32 suitably provided with an air-tight cover. According to like practice t-he pumping chamber may be provided with air-locks to regulate air-pressure and permitting safe access within the subchambers. v

Upon the wall-unit being. sunk in its selected position itmay be completed as follows: The pumping and other apparatus may be removed from the pumping chamber and the unoccupied space within the subchambers filled with earthy material to cause the partition 3 to bear upon its bottom thereon. rl`he filling chambers and the pumping chambers may likewise be filled and a concrete slab or floor 33 may be formed across the top. a

All of the foregoing description ofthe operation relates to a .single unit of a wall. Itwill be understood that it is intended to be employed with other equivalent units in continuous endwise relation as requiredin embankments and the like. The units are installed in operative position one after another. The adjacent ends'provided with Y interfitting and guiding devices, asv described, secure the same in. alinement andin continuous contact with each other. It will be noted that the protruding lower edges of the opposing end walls 2 are arranged to meet to prevent the intrusion of silt between the several units.

Referring to Fig. 1, wherein a completed wall is shown in section, it will be noted that the landside has been filled in with earth and the water side dredged to a suitable depth below low tide of water indicated by L. W. while H. W. represents maximum high tide and its relation to the wall. The dotted line a: in the` view denotes the original slope of the shore before the structure was instituted and the water side dredged. The construction is practicable and safe under all conditions during the operation of sinking and also under the final static and possible moving loads.

The operation of sinking is rapid and may be conducted with relatively small con-` sumption of power or labor.

Having described -my invention,I claim as new and desire to securev by Letters Patent, is

1. A method of building sea-walls consisting in forming a hollow wall section with a transverse horizontal partition therewhat l".V

in to afford a sub-chamber opening downwardly and a filling chamber openi-ng upwardly,`v pumping water into said sub-chamber and withdrawing same with accompanying earth, depositing said earth in said filling chamber as the structure is progressively sunk, and finally causing the subchamber to be completely filled with earth. 2. A method of building sea-walls, consisting in forming a pluralit of longitudinal hollow wall-sections o homogeneous construction, sinking them in alined adjacent* order by withdrawing the earth from beneath their foundations, and filling the sections with said earth.

- 3. A sea-wall comprised of a plurality of sections seyerally consisting of longitudinal side walls2 transverse' end walls provided with exterior'guide devices fo-r engagement with adjacent sections, a horizontally arranged partition connecting said walls and affordinga Water-chamber therebeneath opening downwardly, and a Vfilling chamber thereabove. l

4. A sea-wall comprised of a plurality of wall units severally consisting of a homogeneous structure provided with longitud'b nal side walls and transverse end walls provided withV exterior guide devices for alined engagement with adjacent sections, a horizontally arranged partition connecting said walls and affording a chamber therebeneath openable downwardly with access to the foundation bed.

5. A sea-wallV comprised of a plurality of wall units severally consisting of-a homogeneous structure provided with longitudinal side walls and transverse end walls provided with exterior guide devices for alined engagement with adjacent sections, a horizontally arranged partition connecting said walls and affording a chamber therebeneath opening downwardly with access to the foundation bed, means to introduce water under pressure within said chamber, andI means to withdraw water and accompanying earthy material from said chamber.

6. The method of establishing sea-walls orthe like, consisting of providing a hollow structure divided by a horizontal partition into upper and lower compartments, said lower compartment openin downwardly toward the foundation bed, injecting water under pressure within said lower compartment, and withdrawing said water and ac-y companying earth removed from the foundation bed within the lower compartment to undermine the walls of the structure to cause the latter to sink within said bed, and filling said upper 'compartments with said earth.

7. In a-sea-wall or embankment, a section of homogeneous construction consisting of vertical walls, a transverse horizont-al pai'- tition connecting said walls, and one or vmore verticallyarranvged party-walls above said horizontal partition dividing ythe superstruct'ure into a plurality of chambers.

an excavation as it is deepened a structure having a water-chamber at its lower end,

-saidexcavation being madel by pumping Water to fill said chamber and vsimultaneously withdrawing Water from said chamber with accompanying earth.

9. The method of establishing sea-walls and the like, which consists in sinkinginto :image1 an excavation as it is deepened a' structure having aA water chamber at its lower end 1'5 .u

and a illingchamber thereabove, said excavation being madeby pumping water to ll said water-chamber and slmultaneously withdrawing water from said chamber with accompanying earth, and depositing said 20 earth in said filling chamber.

HENRY BAETZ. Witnesses A. WQCASSELER, l H. BARNES. 

